It has been 20 years after the legendary game first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, however once it got included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a profitable run before their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, with set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
